


ORIGIN

by UnadulteratedFanfiction



Category: Fallen Hero Series - Malin Rydén, Fallen Hero: Rebirth (Video Game)
Genre: Character Death, Childhood Memories, Domestic Violence, Enemy Lovers, M/M, Non-Explicit Sex, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:22:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21616789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnadulteratedFanfiction/pseuds/UnadulteratedFanfiction
Summary: Wrote a small fic. from Herald’s point of view. I’m trying to get into his mind as a character.Warning, spoilers.(This fic might be a bit old, we know more stuff about Herald now)
Relationships: Herald/Sidestep (Fallen Hero)
Kudos: 7





	ORIGIN

ORIGIN

2032\. July 4th.

Everyone celebrates a day like this. 

Meanwhile, you drink alone. They tried to convince you to take part this year as well. It’s been 9 years they say. You still can’t. 

There is a magazine that’s a few months old over the counter. You peek… and of course, it’s you  
“Herald defeats Medusa and Tanathos.” The cover is the picture of you standing over Thanatos’s fallen armor. Of course, they had to photoshop Medusa lying down there as well. As if it were that easy.

They believe you can do everything these days.  
As the years’ pass, your strength has increased, as has your resilience and your flight speed. Powers grow stronger as you get older.  
But you don’t care about power. 

You order another round of whiskey. There are memories you need to drown. Especially on a day a like this.

You drink. But you still remember.

You remember your father and your mother. Arguing. Screaming. Crying. Tearing each other apart. While you and your brother watched TV, pretending not to listen. Watching the Rangers, getting their man.

Sidestep and Charge, the formidable duo. Fighting against evil.  
Your brother Mark liked Charge. You were a die-hard fan of Sidestep. And playing together, pretending to be your heroes, helped you survive. As your family was torn apart.

You remember when your mom took you both to San Benito’s, your favorite pizza place.  
She wore so much makeup, trying to hide the black eye your father gave her. You remember being afraid to ask her about it. 

She took you there to escape from him. To protect you two before he hit you again. 

And then the extraordinary happened… the Candyman appeared… put the building next to you on fire. Elyise and Sidestep fought him… Your mom and your brother ran. But you got separated in the crowd. And then the Candyman took you. 

He said he would kill you.  
And Sidestep came alone, with his hands held up. Saying he would surrender. To save you. 

You. 

His life for yours, that was the deal. Just like on TV.

But he had planned it ahead. Steel attacked the Candyman. And Sidestep swept in and took you away. 

You were terrified. But he tapped your shoulder and looked at you.

And you knew.  
You knew everything would be fine as long as your hero was there.  
The terror was gone  
He saved you. And then, after it was over, you run up to him. And the two of you took a picture together. And a video.

Mark and you watched that video every night.

You remember when your mom started doing drugs after the beatings became more common.  
You remember when your father came in so drunk that he broke Marks’ arm. And beat you so hard you passed out.  
And then you lived with grandma. Until you ran away from your family.

You remember watching out for each other, just you and your brother, on the streets. You remember when you made the pact.  
That if one survived and the other didn’t, you would become the greatest hero that ever lived. And Mark swore the same.  
And then you injected the drugs.

And they worked. You started floating. Your brother became incredibly fast.  
You played around with your powers all night. And then went to sleep knowing you’d be superheroes the next day.  
But only you woke up. Your brother was dead. His body aged rapidly during the night. His face… the expression of pain.

You couldn’t cry. You just couldn’t. You promised him you would be the greatest hero.  
That you would do it for the two of you. You didn’t cry.

You did everything you could. Joined the Rangers. Became one of the youngest heroes. Tried to prove yourself, at every opportunity.

For Mark. You owed him.

And then Sidestep came back. You felt your world turning upside down.

And then Retribution. You remember the fight. How he hated you. He broke your bones. Tortured you. Wanted to kill you…  
You don’t know how you made it out alive. But you recovered. You had to. You couldn’t let this stop you.

You couldn’t let this happen again. You asked Sidestep to help you. You begged him. You literally swept him off his feet and tried to find out why he quit.  
It made you feel afraid. You couldn’t quit. No matter the odds. You needed to become stronger.

He agreed to train you. You began talking. Became friends. There was something else… But you couldn’t speak it out loud. 

He asked you why had you become a superhero. You had never told anyone before. But you told him.  
And he was at a loss for words. He left the dinner that night.

Then next time you met him, he promised he’d help you fulfill your promise to Mark. 

He trained you. He trained you hard. He was a relentless teacher. He trained your mind, your body, your powers. Helped you learn how to resist mental attacks.  
How to be faster, stronger. How to block any attack. How to read your opponent.

The attack on the tech towers… You fought Retribution to a standstill.  
“Not good enough!” he told you

The bombs planted at the mall. You managed to throw them at the lake.  
“Too slow!” he judged it.

Sabotage on the armament factories. Retribution gave you a cut on your check there. You were lucky it wasn’t your neck.  
“You came through the wrong entrance!” he admonished you.

You felt something building up as training went. His concern when you were injured became more visceral. More personal  
Finally, during a long session, you kissed. And he panicked. He had to leave. You didn’t understand it of course. How could you know?

Then the next attack came… buildings were torn down, as he deployed a nanite weapon. You defeated him. You took several wounds, but you stopped him. He had to flee.  
“I… I think you are ready” Sidestep told you at last.  
You were done with playing this game with him. You approached him and kissed him. And he kissed you back.  
And his facade fell. He broke down.  
Falling on his knees.  
And he confessed. He told you he wasn’t human. He was a re-gene. A government weapon. He told you he had done terrible things.  
You told him he was still a hero. He slapped you. He told you he was no one’s hero. He told you, that you should kill him before he ruined everything again.

But you didn’t. You pinned him down on the floor. And kissed him. He struggled… and then he gave in. You helped him take off his nanomesh shirt…  
The tattoos underneath. He was embarrassed. He told you he hated his body. You told him you had never seen anything so beautiful. He told you to stop. But you kept telling him. You told him to read your mind. He could see it was true. He broke in tears. Told you he was a piece of shit, and that he should have died a long time ago. You held him until he stopped shivering. And then he calmed down. And he opened up. You started speaking about life… and the universe. You let passion take over the wheel. And then you spent the night, on that rooftop. It was more than sex. He entered your mind. You could feel him. You could feel yourself. It was almost a religious experience.

You stayed together, sharing your minds for long hours. Until you saw it. The horrors of the farm. The hatred he had been hiding deep inside. The Mask. Retribution, hiding inside his mind, in plain sight.

You raised your mind’s shields, the way he thought you to, cutting the link. He smiled bitterly. “I knew you couldn’t stand it once you saw it… I’m sorry”  
“You should have killed me,” he said.

You fought. half-naked, his tattoos glowing under the night’s sky. You didn’t want to, but he attacked you. He left you no choice.  
You were ready. He couldn’t beat you. But he had a taser hidden among his things. He knocked you down.  
As you passed out he asked you  
“Please… stay away from this. I can’t stop. Not for you. Not for anyone. Please, just sit this one out Daniel.”  
And he escaped.

And then his plan unfolded. The attack on the Missile Silo. A mind-controlled army on his side. During independence day.  
The rangers and you fought your way through. He sealed the gate in the control room, but your flight was faster, thanks to his training. You were the only ranger to make it inside.  
You begged for him to stop. He refused. He started the countdown. You fought. You threw him over the controls. He smashed you into the computers. You broke his arm. He sent nanites to make the ceiling crash on you.  
You slammed him into a wall. He attacked your mind with all his strength and fury. Your shields held. He had trained you well. 

His armor began breaking down. Circuits burning, and sparks coming out after every strike. In the end, he fell down, beaten. He has sustained so many injuries.  
But you couldn’t stop the countdown. The missile targeted a deserted area in Nevada. A look of triumph in his eyes.

You opened the gates. Ortega was beside himself when he saw it.  
Sidestep whispered a few words in your ear.  
"I think… you’ve… kept your promise… Daniel.” He was smiling. He was dying, but you would never forget the look of happiness “I thought you everything I know… please… take this"  
And he gave you the memory rod. “Please give it to… Mia Ochoa. She’ll know what to do… And.. tell them.. who I was." 

“Please hold on! We need to take you to a hospital,” you asked. 

“That’s… not an option,” he said.

And then you felt him in your mind one last time. You kissed him, sharing his final thoughts. 

And he died. For real this time. And part of you died with him.  
The scandal came later when the government conspiracy was debunked.  
You became a national hero. The greatest on the West Coast. In all America.  
You have much to be proud of. And you are, most of the time.

But on the fourth of July, you only want to forget. You don’t want memories on a day like this.

"HEY! ARE YOU HERALD!?” A man approaches you. “I SAW YOU ON TV! YOUR BATTLE AGAINST RETRIBUTION WAS THE BEST! YOU BEAT HIM GOOD! YOu…” He is interrupted by the first connecting with his face.  
You stand up to leave. Did you break his jaw? Perhaps.  
You can’t help it.

Especially no on a day like this.

**Author's Note:**

> My fanfics: https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/181692759294/my-fanfiction-for-fallen-hero
> 
> DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and the setting of the Fallen Hero: Rebirth and upcoming Fallen Hero: Retribution games written by Malin Riden. I do not claim ownership of any characters from the Fallen Hero wold. These stories are a work of my imagination, and I do not ascribe them to the official story canon. These works are intended for entertainment outside the official storyline owned by the author. I am not profiting financially from the creation of these stories, and thank the author for her wonderful game/s, without which these works would not exist.


End file.
